The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for manufacturing blind fasteners including a pin and a sleeve and more particularly to a method and apparatus for manufacturing the sleeve to have a stop shoulder adapted to provide material for locking the pin and sleeve together.
The present invention is related to the commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 425,304, filed Sept. 28, 1982, by Walter J. Smith for "Two Piece Blind Fastener with Lock Spindle Construction". The disclosure of that application is incorporated herein by reference.
In many blind fastener applications it is desirable that the pin and sleeve be mechanically locked together to inhibit separation and loss of the pin through vibration, etc. Examples of such blind fasteners can be seen in the following U.S. patents: U.S. Pat. No. 4,046,053 for Blind Rivet issued on Sept. 6, 1977 to Alvi et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,288,016 for Blind Two-Piece Fastener issued on Nov. 29, 1966 to Reynolds, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,538,623 for Rivet Assembly issued on Jan. 16, 1951 to Keating.
In the application of Smith, supra, a two piece blind fastener (including a pin and a sleeve) of simple construction is provided in which an internal portion of the sleeve is folded and/or moved radially inwardly by a portion of the pin into a lock pocket on the pin. The present invention provides a novel method and apparatus for manufacturing a sleeve having an internal portion which can be folded and/or moved radially inwardly into the pin lock pocket. As noted in the Smith application it is desirable that the sleeve portion be formed to include a portion radially separated from the adjacent portion of the sleeve by a taper and/or slit. The present invention provides a novel method and apparatus for constructing such a sleeve portion.
Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel method and apparatus for manufacturing a blind fastener sleeve having a portion which can be deformed or folded radially inwardly to lock the sleeve with an associated pin.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel method and apparatus for providing a lock portion of a blind fastener sleeve which is at least partially radially separated from the adjacent portion of the sleeve.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel method and apparatus for providing a lock portion of a blind fastener sleeve which is at least partially radially separated from the adjacent portion of the sleeve by a taper.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide a novel method and apparatus for the manufacture of a blind fastener sleeve.